Mamba 9MMLuger

Designed in 1975 in Rhodesia, a British colonial country now known as Zimbabwe, during the civil war there but made in 1977 in South Afica by Viper Engineering (Pty) Ltd., a division of Sandock Austral; Boksburg, South Africa. It was a high-capacity, recoil-operated, semi-automatic pistol made from pretty soft steel so owners are advised not to fire the gun. The Mamba doesn't have any decocking system, which is unusual for a SA/DA pistol. The Mamba's barrel has 12-groove 'button rifling', an unusual feature which is said to increase muzzle velocity by up to 10%. In addition to the rifling, instead of being supported by a bushing, the barrel is supported only by the machined hole at the front of the pistol's slide to increase accuracy. The pistol was a poor seller and with the original manufacturers about to be affected by the imposed arms sanctions in South Africa, the right to manufacturing the Mamba pistol was sold to the Navy Arms Company of the US in the early 1980s by Viper Engineering. The Navy Arms Company production of Mamba pistols only lasted a few years. Arround 200 ever made and only 80 imported in the USA.